Never Miss A House

The Barefoot Contessa at Home in Manhattan

Ina Garten, known to millions of foodies as “The Barefoot Contessa,” has an apartment in Manhattan featured in House Beautiful. I love this quote of hers from the article:

When people come to your house, you don’t ever want them to feel that you’ve been cooking for three days. You want them to feel like this is just something you whipped up and come on, we’re having a party. And decorating is like that, too. You don’t want people to feel, Oh, don’t touch that. You want them to feel, Oh, just sit anywhere and put your feet up.

Aren’t these pumpkin-colored silk velvet curtains sumptuous?

Despite the bold color on the windows, the rest of the apartment remains mostly neutral.

The kitchen in her East Hampton “barn” is the one most of us recognize (featured in Veranda magazine):

Garten’s barn was built as a multi-purpose office where she creates recipes, write cookbooks, and films her television shows.

Did you know that Garten worked at the White House in the 1970s on nuclear energy policy? Determined to change course, she bought a small, specialty food store in the Hamptons called “The Barefoot Contessa.” She told The New York Times, “My job in Washington was intellectually exciting and stimulating but it wasn’t me at all.”

The original store’s owner named it after a 1954 film starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart. Garten felt the name suited her “elegant but earthy lifestyle.”

In Something’s Gotta Give, Garten’s Hamptons store was the one that Diane Keaton’s character shops in (but it has since closed):

(You can see my post about the fabulous Something’s Gotta Give house here.)

Her first book, The Barefoot Contessa’s Cookbook, became a bestseller when it was published in 1999. Today she continues to write books and hosts “The Barefoot Contessa,” a popular show on The Food Network. (Do you watch?)

Read the interview with Garten and see the slideshow of her Manhattan apartment at House Beautiful. (Photos by Simon Upton.)

Hi Julia hope you are doing well this lady I watched on the Oprah show a while back she is very elegant so is her apartment. I love black and white pictures on the walls. I have a few of New York and Paris and of course a few of Ansel Adams works all in black and white and beautiful – Allposters.com in the US of A they have a big website when you start you can’t stop. Let me take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Happy Healthy Safe and Prosperous New Year. Cheers Esther from Sydney…

I do not watch her show – but I use some of her recipes I find online. I LOVE those pumpkin colored silk velvet drapes. I’m swooning over them. Her apartment is lovely! .-= christy´s last blog ..My blog book =-.

Of course I watch Ina – love her. I have to admit that I love her house & barn in East Hampton more than the Manhatten apartment but they’re both classic. Thanks for the tour. .-= duchess´s last blog ..Christmas Wrap Up 2009 =-.

Wanted to let you know I just saw an article in the paper that the movie house for Nights in Rodanthe just sold. The house is being saved and moved one mile inland. .-= sgreddoor@aol.com´s last blog ..Flower Frog Fun =-.

That barn is my all time favorite kitchen. I absolutely love her style (and her friends who help her with tablescapes and flowers on her show :)). Those curtains look so yummy…thanks for sharing!! .-= Kelly´s last blog ..Metamorphosis Monday…my first =-.

You are amazing! My issue of House beautiful is in the large amount of mail waiting on my counter. I love Ina. I saw her husband in Laguardia one time and I almost went up to him and declared, “I am in love with your wife!” I didn’t I thought he might think I was weird. .-= Jessica at Lavender & Lilies´s last blog ..I’m Back =-.

Honey B– The “barn kitchen” at the bottom is in the Hamptons where she films the show. The kitchen at the top of the post is the one in her apartment. Sorry if I confused you by throwing them both in there, but I just love that barn kitchen and couldn’t resist showing it, too! -Julia 🙂

I love Ina Garten, her houses, her recipes, everything! So many of her recipes have become a staple at my home; turkey meatloaf, coq au vin, salmon with lentils, and lately sliders! Kids love them. When I am planning a party, I have no problem using one of her recipes that I haven’t even tested because I know it will work. Fresh, good food, relaxed entertaining…that’s wonderful! Thank you for the article!

A lovely guest brought Beatty’s Chocolate a recipe from Ina’s M-I-L (or G’mother-I-L) to a Holiday Game Dinner here at the Farm and generated “Increible” from every partaker. Available online & also at the Food Network site Ina declares it the “Best chocolate cake ever!I would have to agree. Easy too! I made it with lesser grade chocolate than suggested and in a 2 3/4 cake pan (batter very thin) and it was stupendous!!!! I dragged a fork through the frosting and it looked elegant too! Love this ladies easy, warm demeanor. Defines gracious in my mind. Seems genuinely happy too and her surroundings reflect it!

I just saw this issue and thought her home was really warm and lovely. I think she accomplished her goal of making it inviting. The pumpkin velvet curtains are just fantastic – luxurious but cozy. Love it. .-= FROM THE RIGHT BANK´s last blog ..The House Is Finally Ours! =-.

Never realized that the store in Something’s Gotta Give was Barefoot Contessa! I have a new movie house for you–the house from The Hangover. Most of the movie is set in Vegas, but the beginning and the end are at the bride’s parents’ estate. They don’t show a lot of the interiors of the house but what they do is great–especially the library. It’s painted this deep deep turquoise. There is a scene in the library during the movie, and also there is an extra scene set in the library at the end of the extended edition on DVD.

I love her gigantic kitchen and how she has a beautiful table right in the middle of it. I love to work in the kitchen with my guests enjoying conversation around me. Someday, I’ll have a larger home and hope to have a similar set up!!! .-= the BLAH BLAH BLAHger´s last blog ..Our Christmas Tradition =-.

Hi Julia, I love this home and I love Ina. I agree with her philosophy of making people feel warm and invited….whether it is food or decorating! Great post. Hope your Christmas was wonderful…ours was! Blessings, Debbie .-= Debbie´s last blog ..A big change… =-.

Oh, Ina. How I love her. (Though, I am always embarrassed for her terrible acting skills during “cell phone” or “market shopping” segments of her show!) I love that she always makes a decadent dessert to finish off a meal. The small herb trees lined up against the back-splash (of her barn kitchen) are a nice touch. The love she expresses for her husband is always so sweet. It’s so difficult for me to imagine her living in the fast-paced city of New York. I have always seen her as a realistic, within-reach Martha Stewart. Oh! I’m such a fan!

Looks like you’re a Barefoot fan. I just discovered a few days ago the Barefoot Bloggers. Its a club for Contessa fans who make her recipes and post them. Its pretty neat. I too enjoy watching her. .-= arlene´s last blog ..The Irish Pub Special….I’d like to think =-.

I LOVE INA! Her voice is so calming to me ,sometimes I put her on to fall asleep to.

I have to say I love her Hamptons home 100 times more than her apt. Maybe it’s the Southern laid back girl in me,or the fact that I love beach houses, or maybe it could be me imagining what the apt. would look like 5 minutes after my 4 year old son entered it,lol.

Hello Julia – it really is Le @ Whoop Whoop just here to wish you happiness and all things good for 2010. Loved this piece – her quote re her government job ‘being stimualting but not at all me’ is me to a T.

Thru your inspiration and one or two others I have started a new project blog … your beach blog is so inspiring I just had to have one of my own … best to you le .-= le´s last blog ..Felt Affair =-.

I love the pumpkin curtains & the barn style, but quite honestly, in her apartment anyway, I don’t see a single piece of furniture that says to me “Oh, just sit anywhere and put your feet up.” But it is pretty, just not ‘comfy’ to me. I enjoy your blog so much! Not only do you provide inspiration & a peek into homes, but I’ve been getting lots of Netflix ideas from you too with all your posts on homes from movies! .-= Charlene´s last blog ..Christmas 2009 =-.

Sadly, I am not a fan of cooking shows, nor of orange. 😉 I think it’s a well put-together apartment, though.

What really interests me is that these women w/the cooking shows seem to film at their own homes. I suppose that is much more convenient for them and saves the networks a bundle by not having to build a standing set. I wonder what Julia (um, the other one) would think?

As a long time lurker, just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all your great posts. I always look forward to them, even if I can’t think of anything to comment! .-= Nikki´s last blog ..Tequila Cream Ice Cream =-.

I can’t believe her change in careers–one of the lucky ones! The left and right sides of her brain developed 🙂 Happy New Year and thanks for a year of great posts! .-= susan´s last blog ..2009 A Year in Review =-.

Funny you should feature Ina Garten. My husband asked for some cookbooks for Christmas, and one of hers was a book I bought for him. So I had just read about her last week. I like her even more after knowing more about her!

From what I’ve seen of your house, I’d say that your place embodies the spirit of which In Garten speaks.

Julia, I have been an Ina Garten fan all along. She is grace under pressure, and knows that simple is best. This is a lovely post, and her apartment is wonderful…especially those drapes. Wishes for a happy and healthy new year to you and your family. May 2010 bring to you all your heart desires. Susan .-= black eyed susans kitchen´s last blog ..NEW YEAR OPTIMISM =-.

Loved her house, loved “Something’s Gotta Give” house and movie, loved “It’s complicated”. You should check out the book “An Affair With A House” by Bunny Williams. Gorgeous photos of her restored home and she has a “barn”, too.

Julia — THIS is how I found you! I googled something about Ina Garten’s store being in what movie, and this “Hooked on Houses” spot was listed! So I clicked on and, as I said in my other ‘comment’ that I left: I am now HOOKED on your blogs! If you can add me to your email list of the HOOKED ON HOUSES email list if you have one, please do! gloria.vincent@yahoo.com. Thanks!! Best regards, Gloria .-= Gloria´s last blog ..Second Day – my first Follower! =-.

How did I miss this post?! When a friend introduced me to Ina (not in reality, but introduced me to her show/cookbooks), I thought she seemed just a little stuffy. But I’ve grown to enjoy her shows and would love to meet her (yeah, like that’s going to happen). Her homes and barn are lovely and her cooking is spectacularly simple and beautiful. She seems, from afar, like such an interesting human being with many facets. Great post, Julia! .-= Sheila´s last blog ..Google as a verb — and a puppy =-.